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This year the introduction of Tatar culture and arts at the 28th annual International Festival in Raleigh, North Carolina has become inevitable because the theme was “Art, Crafts and Music”. The Tatars have so much to share and to be proud of! There are several unique art techniques that the Tatars developed, among which Tatar leather mosaic takes the special place. This year the festival was attended by over 25000 guests. Debutant of the festival -Tatar cultural exhibit – was warmly welcomed and heavily visited. Amazing volunteers from different cultural backgrounds (Tatar, American, Uzbek, Indian, Chinese…) helped to put together and run the booth.

I hope this first experience of showcasing Tatar arts and crafts to such broad American audience is a good start in changing stereotypical associations of Tatars with Mongols, warriors and peace breakers. I want Tatars to be well-known as peaceful, creative, innovative, sport-loving and caring people with culture and arts to be inspired and strived for.

I want to thank everyone who supported and encouraged me to organize and run the exhibit! I am, particularly, expressing my cheers to an exceptional American girl – Lily – whose incredible desire to learn and enjoy Tatar language, whose unimaginable inner power and strong and humble personality inspire me to diligently spread the word about the Tatars and their rich and mesmerizing culture.

Please stop by to see beautiful exhibits and samples of Tatar leather mosaic, embroidery, weaving, jewelry, decorations, illustrations and more. You will have a chance to realize why technique of leather mosaic is so unique and why Tatar decorative art is so exceptional and beautiful! You will also have a chance to try yourself as a designer of Tatar costume: Boots, hats and aprons are waiting for you to be decorated with Tatar ethnic ornaments and patterns.

Among many decorative leather art techniques (application, burning, stamping, embroidery, and painting) mosaic is the hardest to execute and to find.

There is a place where the art of leather mosaic has been created and refined, where masterpieces have been meticulously and individually crafted. The name of this place is Kazan, a city situated in the heart of the Russian Federation in the beautiful and peaceful Republic of Tatarstan, the homeland of the Turkic ethnic group called the Tatars.

Kazan leather mosaic is a unique type of leather crafting that was developed in the Kazan area centuries ago. This art is a sophisticated and delicate combination of the softest leather and traditional Tatar ethnic ornaments cut and stitched together by hand.

Widely popular and famous across Russia and throughout Europe and Asia in the 18 and 19th centuries, so-called Kazan or Tatar boots crafted using the leather mosaic technique are slowly regaining their popularity thanks to dedicated and passionate craftsmen in the Kazan area who have been creating masterpieces by hand. Kazan stitch – the bonding mechanism of the technique – cannot be reproduced by a machine. There is nothing else in the world that looks and feels the same!

The art of Kazan leather mosaic has an interesting and rocky history. The period since the Soviet Union collapsed has been the hardest time for the few craftsmen left to keep the art alive. They are doing a wonderful job of preserving the art with the limited resources available to them. Much still needs to be done to preserve, revive, and popularize the art of unique Kazan leather mosaic across generations and nations.